Archive

Coconut flour is a great gluten-free alternative flour. I’ve been baking with coconut flour for several years, mainly because of its low-carbohydrate nature. Plus, I’ve enjoyed the creativity others have put into developing tasty recipes. Besides being a nice alternative to wheat flour, coconut flour has many benefits.

Low in carbohydrates

High in fiber

Rich in protein

Very filling

Keep in mind that since coconut flour is not grain based and contains no gluten, it does not perform like wheat flour. Because coconut flour is very absorbent, only small amounts are used. Sifting coconut flour is a good idea because it tends to clump. And lastly, coconut flour is dry so any recipe you see will require lots of eggs.

I have bought coconut flour at Whole Foods but I’ve found it less expensive to order online.

As a health care practitioner, I have evolved over my career regarding my thoughts on diet. But for the past few years, I have learned, appreciated and explored the world of traditional foods. My nutritional mentor for this is Weston A. Price. Organizations such as the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation have been instrumental in my education. In the past I’ve been a junk-food vegetarian, vegan (what was I thinking?), completely fat-free and a diet Coke addict. I’ve been recovering my health over the past few years and am feeling better than ever. I’ve learned that the human body can do just fine without grains (wheat, oats, rice, etc) but that we also need to eat fat in our diet. I remember the no/low fat craze of the 1990s and took that information to heart, only to end up gaining weight, dealing with depression, and having all over joint pain.

I’ve also learned that eating the way we did long ago i.e. no processed foods, vegetable oils, artificial sweeteners or food additives is best for the human body. I’ve included a few recipes below to get your started with ideas on food that is not only tasty but very healthy. I’ve only included a few recipes but encourage you to explore some of the blogs and websites by some pioneering and very creative traditional food advocates.

I’ve not tested all the recipes listed below but I’ve used recipes from the websites. One caveat is that if a recipe calls for low-fat cheese or sour cream, I recommend using whole fat instead. Organic is always better and raw is even better than that!

Salads can be so much more than the iceberg lettuce with thousand island dressing salads that I grew up with. The websites listed below epitomize salad creativity. To me, the most interesting salads contain a combination of vegetables, lettuces, meats, grains, or cheeses. The possibilities are endless. One caveat is that I always recommend making your own salad dressings. Commercial salad dressings are problematic because so many of them contain highly processed and/or rancid oils in addition to a variety of forms of MSG. A great introductory video on the “health” of salad dressings plus a tutorial on how to make your own, visit the Weston A Price Foundation website. I encourage you to be creative with your salads but if you are intimated on where to start, check out the following websites for an abundance of ideas.

Kayln’s Kitchen is a vast resource for salad ideas. She has dozens of recipes for salads with vegetables, fruit, meat, grains, cheese, etc. I’ve tried many of her recipes and they were all so tasty!